Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-sports/page/43/)
Watertown High School’s football team made the MIAA State Tournament for the fifth straight season, despite a losing record.
The Raiders (3-4) are the sixth seed in the Div. 5 North Section, and will travel to face third-seeded Swampscott (6-1) for the section quarterfinal. The game will be played on Saturday, Oct. 28 at noon. In the past, Watertown has found success starting on the road in the playoffs.
The Watertown football team fought back after being down to Wakefield, but could not hold off the Warriors Friday night. Down in the fourth quarter, the Raiders tied the game at 14 with just over 5 minutes left in the game. Wakefield got the ball late and had first and goal at the 1 with 32 seconds left in the fourth. Watertown’s defense held the Warriors for two downs but Wakefield scored with 14 ticks remaining to win 21-14 in Wakefield. The loss puts the Raiders’ record at 3-4 for the season and 1-4 in the Middlesex League. Watertown should make the MIAA North Section Div.
(The Watertown High School Athletic Hall of Fame provided the following profile)
The WHS Athletic Hall of Fame has inducted many successful teams in the last 25 years. But in the opinion of many, one stands above the rest. The 1977 football team finished 10-0 and currently has three of its players in the Hall. So on this, the 25th anniversary of the first class inducted, we honor legendary, Hall of Fame Coach John Barbati’s Middlesex League champions, the only undefeated gridiron team in the history of the school. Led by senior captains Bobby Kelland, Sparky Lyle, and Albie Mandafino, they were supposed to win, and they did, and that was not an easy thing to do in the competitive Middlesex League.
(The Watertown High School Athletic Hall of Fame provided this profile.)
Watertown High School has a tremendous history when it comes to outstanding coaches, including Hall of Famers Dick Berardino, Dick Umile, Eileen Donahue, and Steve Harrington, just to name a few. Kevin Russo is the next coach to join the Hall, and his accomplishments in a 27-year career are lengthy indeed. In 1999 Kevin undertook the difficult task of starting a brand new program in his adopted hometown of Watertown. There was no club team at Watertown, no JV program to feed off of, so he started with a varsity team in league competition right away. Under Kevin’s tutelage Watertown has had many successful winning seasons and has been able to fill the line up each year in all 14 weights, which is extremely difficult to do.
Watertown’s bid to get a home playoff game took a hit when their comeback fell short against Stoneham Friday night. The Raiders fell 27-23.
The Raiders started well on the road, with two first quarter touchdowns. The first was a 7 yard pass to Yoseph Hamad and the second to senior Johm Korte from the 30. The Spartans grabbed 16-14 a halftime lead with a second quarter touchdown an a 2-point conversion. The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, but Stoneham established a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run by Christos Argyropoulos, the running back’s third of the night.
(The Watertown High School Athletic Hall of Fame submitted the following team profile)
Hall of Fame Coach Steve Harrington consistently had his teams knocking on the door of a State Championship in the early 2000’s. In 2000, 2005 and 2006 the Red Raiders lost in the North Sectional Finals. In ’03 they lost in the Garden in the EMass finals. The gyms at Watertown High and the rest of their Middlesex League opponents was the place to be on Tuesday and Friday nights. Both home and away games were packed with loyal Red Raider fans.
The Watertown football team lead Wilmington for the whole first half of the Raiders final regular season home game, but fell 32-17. Watertown took the lead on a first quarter 3-yard touchdown run by fullback Edward Ferreira, and then doubled the lead when quarterback Nick McDermott scored on a 1-yard run. A 39-yard field goal by Conor Kennelly gave the Raiders a 17-8 halftime lead. However, Wilmington (4-1) held Watertown scoreless the rest of the game and running back John Kenny scored two of his three touchdowns in the second half to lead the Wildcats to the victory. The loss drops the Raiders’ record to 3-2, and 1-2 in the Middlesex League.
The fledgling Arlington-Watertown girls swimming team got its first taste of success over the weekend when the team defeated Burlington 52-41 for its first dual meet win.
The team is a cooperative team and includes swimmers from both high schools, including six from Watertown. While Arlington has had a program for several years, this is Watertown’s first swim team. Head coach Aldar Su said it took a little bit of adjustment, but the students from different schools have come together over the first few weeks. “It took a couple of weeks for them to warm up to each other,” Su said. “That’s the nice thing with fall sports.